Sports category, Page 1190
To pull the upset, Penn State has to disrupt Ohio State’s perfect red-zone offense
Ohio State is halfway to history. In the last decade, no FBS team has finished a full season, covid-shortened 2020 not included, with a perfect red-zone conversion rate. Some have come close. For example, LSU’s 2019 juggernaut, led by Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, scored on 73 of...
Mark Madden: MLB playoffs are must-see TV, but why the wait for the World Series?
I rarely watch the Pirates. Too depressing. Worse than “Dear Evan Hansen” even. But when playoff baseball starts, I watch. I miss the single-elimination wild-card games. They provided Game 7 excitement on the postseason’s first night. But nobody is ever happy about the format of the MLB playoffs. When three...
U mad bro?: Matt Canada and Kenny Pickett shouldn’t worry — Steelers fans are sinking their teeth into other folks instead
When I started covering the Pittsburgh Steelers more than 20 years ago, I learned two things very quickly. 1. Steelers fans bask in criticizing the quarterback and offensive coordinator. 2. The only thing Steelers fans enjoy more than criticizing the quarterback and the offensive coordinator is criticizing the media for...
First Call: Steelers allegedly ‘shot down’ trade inquiry about Cameron Heyward; Eagles add piece before Steelers game
Thursday’s “First Call” shines a spotlight on the Pittsburgh Steelers before the NFL trade deadline. An NFC team allegedly wanted to acquire Cameron Heyward. Meanwhile, finding a match for Chase Claypool may still be hard. Plus, the Penguins’ next opponent is off to a brutal start. No harm in asking...
Tim Benz: Mike Sullivan points out must-fix flaws after Penguins’ losses in western Canada
The Penguins’ hot start to the 2022-23 season quickly brought visions of a Metropolitan Division title and a deep playoff run to the minds of hockey fans in Pittsburgh. A 4-0-1 start. Scoring over five goals a game. The outset of this season felt like the end of 2016 or...
Minor league report: Drew O’Connor, Penguins beat MonstersVideo
Two goals and an assist by forward Drew O’Connor helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins claim a 5-1 home win against the Cleveland Monsters at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday. Forward Filip Hallander recorded two assists for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while goaltender Dustin Tokarski made 22 saves in the victory. Highlights: The...
Aaron Rodgers using tough-love approach with slumping PackersVideo
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Green Bay Packers are carrying a three-game losing streak and one of the NFL’s worst offenses into this week’s game at Buffalo against the Bills. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said during his weekly interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” on YouTube and SiriusXM on Tuesday...
Saints sticking with Andy Dalton over Jameis Winston vs. RaidersVideo
METAIRIE, La. — Saints coach Dennis Allen has decided Andy Dalton will remain the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback for a fifth straight week — even though Jameis Winston is healthy enough to return. “Offensively, I feel like we’re in a little bit of a rhythm,” Allen said Wednesday after...
Patriots QB Mac Jones believes he deserves to be starter vs. JetsVideo
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Mac Jones believes he deserves to start the Patriots’ matchup with the Jets on Sunday. Whether he’s definitively been told that he will is a different matter. “I plan to start every game that I’ve ever played in, Whether that was in pee-wee football or third string...
Tom Brady, Bucs aim to rebound against Lamar Jackson, RavensVideo
TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson have mutual respect and admiration for one another’s success. The seven-time Super Bowl champion and one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks meet for the second time in their careers when the struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday...
Kyle Schwarber powers Phillies in postseason with mythical homersVideo
PHILADELPHIA — Kyle Schwarber crushed a 98 mph slider beyond the center-field fence, and the ball disappeared into a thicket of English ivy, Arborvitae, Holly and other evergreen flourishing as the greenery backdrop at Citizens Bank Park. Most of Schwarber’s homers land in easy-to-track spots. This particular ball, hit against...
Stingy Eagles defense presents nightmare matchup for struggling Steelers
The lead-up to the rare all-Pennsylvania NFL matchup began strangely, with Philadelphia’s coach extolling the praises of Pittsburgh while the Steelers quarterback referenced how excited he is to see Philadelphia’s baseball team in the World Series. “My dad was a huge Philly guy,” the Steelers’ Kenny Pickett said Wednesday, “so...
Lessons from his father guide Frank Cignetti Jr. while he works to fix Pitt’s aerial game
Every morning when Frank Cignetti Jr. turns on the lights in his office, a tidal wave of thoughts rush toward him, followed by a seemingly endless series of questions and, hopefully, the right answers. • What kind of blitz will the next opponent throw at him? • What plays will...
Cardinals’ Wainwright back in 2023; coaching staff to changeVideo
Adam Wainwright will pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals next season, choosing to return for an 18th and final year with the club even as longtime teammates Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina head into retirement. The 41-year-old Wainwright informed the NL Central champions of his decision to return shortly after...
Mickelson compliments McIlroy as rhetoric seems to simmerVideo
DORAL, Fla. — The back-and-forth between Phil Mickelson and Rory McIlroy continued Wednesday, with the rhetoric tuned down considerably from some past verbal jousting involving PGA Tour players and those who left for Saudi-funded LIV Golf. Mickelson complimented McIlroy for his win last week, those remarks coming a day after...
SEC takes strong stance against storming the fieldVideo
COLUMBIA, S.C. — They are iconic moments in college football: Fans rushing the field to celebrate landmark victories, almost all with joyous intentions of honoring their team’s success. The unforgettable scenes have never been more unwelcome in the SEC. The league has tried to curtail crowd rushing for nearly two...
Aaron Nola to start World Series Game 1 for Phillies, Zack Wheeler in Game 2Video
PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies will start right-hander Aaron Nola in Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros and last season’s NL Cy Young Award runner-up Zack Wheeler in Game 2. Game 1 of the World Series is Friday night in Houston. Game 2 is Saturday. “Any...
Eagles acquire 3-time Pro Bowler Robert Quinn from BearsVideo
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The undefeated Philadelphia Eagles already have one of the NFL’s best defenses. Now, they’re adding another pass rusher to the mix. The Eagles acquired three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn from the Chicago Bears for a 2023 fourth-round pick on Wednesday. The teams said the...
Ahkello Witherspoon practices fully, Levi Wallace does not for Steelers
Is this the week Ahkello Witherspoon returns to the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup? Wednesday’s practice suggests it might be. Out since Week 3 because of a groin injury, Witherspoon was a full participant at the indoor session at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The veteran cornerback seemed on the cusp of a...
Penn State will open 2023 Big Ten schedule on the road for 8th season in a row
The Big Ten has taken Penn State and football coach James Franklin on a trip around the Midwest and Maryland for its past seven conference openers, and the 2023 season will be No. 8. Big Ten officials released the ’23 conference schedule Wednesday, and Penn State will open Sept. 16...
Rookie WR Calvin Austin to miss entire season after deadline passes for activation
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth-round pick won’t make it onto the field for his rookie season. Wednesday was the deadline for the Steelers to add Calvin Austin III to the active roster. But the day’s practice came and went, and the Steelers made only one announcement regarding a player on injured...
Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt returns to practice
It was for the most part a gloomy, gray, rainy practice Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have lost four of their past five games. Good thing a positive ray of figurative sunshine brightened the mood — and, potentially, the outlook for the Steelers. Reigning NFL Defensive Player of the...
Joens, No. 8 Iowa State slight Big 12 favorite over Texas
Bill Fennelly has been Iowa State’s coach longer than the Big 12 has existed, and the last time he was this excited going into a season was more than two decades ago. Fennelly has preseason AP All-America forward Ashley Joens back for a fifth season, along Big 12 defensive player...
Caitlin Clark-led Iowa women are pick to win loaded Big Ten
The Big Ten keeps getting tougher in women’s basketball. The conference sent four teams to the NCAA Sweet 16 a second straight year in 2022, and it leads the nation with six programs in the Associated Press preseason Top 25. Caitlin Clark, who could go down as one of the...
No. 7 Louisville women’s team is ACC favorite but has lots of challengers
Louisville is the Atlantic Coast Conference favorite again, though fulfilling that lofty projection will require navigating a more crowded group of serious challengers. After recent seasons in which Louisville and North Carolina State comprised the league’s top tier, 2022-23 begins with several teams poised to make noise. The No. 7...
